London pre-open: Flat start expected ahead of Eurogroup meeting on Greece
20th Feb 2015 07:59
Uncertainty surrounding pivotal talks about Greece was likely to keep investors cautious on Friday, with no change expected for UK stocks expected early on. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will broadly flat on Thursday's close of 6,888.90. The Eurogroup is set to meet in Brussels to discuss Greec
Read moreStandard Life beats profits forecasts as Ignis purchase provides a boost
20th Feb 2015 07:23
Insurance giant Standard Life said the recent acquisition of Ignis helped it to increase assets under administration (AuA) by 38% in 2014, while profit growth and the final dividend came in ahead of City forecasts. AuA from continuing operations totalled £296.6bn by the end of the year, compared wit
Read moreStandard Life completes Canadian disposal, seeks approval for buyback
2nd Feb 2015 07:23
Insurance outfit Standard Life has completed the deal announced last year to sell its Canadian companies to Manulife Financial for £2.2bn, and will press on to get shareholder approval for a £1.75bn share buyback. As previously announced, the group wants to return the equivalent of 73p per share to
Read moreBroker tips: Shell, Easyjet, Standard Life
29th Jan 2015 12:45
Charles Stanley has cut its recommendation for Royal Dutch Shell from 'buy' to 'accumulate', saying it sees less upside after fourth-quarter profits came in well below forecasts. The broker said: "The strong balance sheet will take the strain as Shell begins to reduce capital expenditure and operati
Read moreCanaccord downgrades Standard Life to 'hold'
29th Jan 2015 09:26
Canaccord Genuity said it was "taking a more cautious view" on the near-term growth outlook at Standard Life, as it lowered its rating on the insurer from 'buy' to 'hold'. The broker is worried about the firm's focus areas of UK retail, corporate pensions and its asset management division SLI. Its
Read moreFriday tips round-up: Standard Life, Monitise
23rd Jan 2015 22:12
Shareholders in Standard Life are sitting pretty after the relevant authorities cleared the way for the firm to payout £1.75bn in cash. That comes in the wake of the £2.2bn sale of its Canadian arm last September. That will result in a large outflow of capital, which will nonetheless be compensated
Read moreMonday broker round-up
15th Dec 2014 09:29
Ashtead Group: Berenberg raises target price from 1170p to 1345p and keeps its 'buy' recommendation. Aviva: Citi increases target price from 590p to 620p and maintains a 'buy' recommendation. Bellway: Deutsche Bank ups target price from 1760p to 1778p and reiterates its 'hold' recommendation. Berk
Read moreBroker tips: Tullow Oil, Standard Life, Wolseley, Rexam
13th Nov 2014 15:12
Westhouse Securities has lifted its stance on oil explorer Tullow Oil from 'add' to 'buy', hailing the potential of the company's portfolio of assets. The broker said it now sees "substantial upside" to the stock, with shares now worth just over half of what they were six months ago. However, it has
Read moreCredit Suisse downgrades Standard Life on limited upside
13th Nov 2014 12:20
Credit Suisse has lifted its target price for Standard Life but downgraded the insurer from 'outperform' to 'neutral' after the shares' recent rise. The target price for the stock has been lifted from 410p to 425p to reflect the strong price achieved on the sale of Standard Life's Canadian business
Read moreThursday broker round-up.-Update
13th Nov 2014 10:21
AstraZeneca: JP Morgan raises target price from 3700p to 4100p, keeping its underweight rating. AVEVA Group: Barclays upgrades to overweight. Bellway: Credit Suisse raises target price from 1876p to 1905p and keeps a neutral rating. Bow Leven: Barclays shifts target price from 45p to 50p and retai
Read moreFriday broker round-up UPDATE
31st Oct 2014 09:36
Afren: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 110p to 105p, leaving its hold recommendation unaltered. Aviva: Barclays ups target price from 397p to 420p and reiterates its equal-weight rating. Barclays: Deutsche Bank lowers target price from 300p to 295p and leaves its buy recommendation. Country
Read moreThursday tips round-up: Standard Life, Next
30th Oct 2014 08:51
Standard Life has a lot on its plate, but it also has attractive prospects. To start off with, Standard Life now manages £290bn on behalf of savers and investors which it then directs into equities and bonds. Hence, the bigger the company gets the more it is being seen as a proxy for equity and debt
Read moreThursday broker round-up UPDATE
30th Oct 2014 08:36
Afren: Deutsche Bank cuts target price from 130p to 110p retaining its hold recommendation. Antofagasta: JP Morgan lowers target price from 760p to 755p and reiterates a neutral rating. Investec lowers target price from 717p to 704p and keeps a hold recommendation. Balfour Beatty: Jefferies cuts ta
Read moreLondon open: Stocks move higher ahead of US FOMC
29th Oct 2014 09:26
Wednesday's session is expected to see a continuation of the previous day's gains, ahead of the latest policy decision announcement by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), this evening. As of 09:20 the FTSE 100 was trading around 23 points higher than Tuesday's close at 6,432. The gains were b
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to rise ahead of Fed decision
29th Oct 2014 07:44
Wednesday's session is expected to see a continuation of the previous day's gains, ahead of the latest policy decision announcement by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 29 points higher than Tuesday's close of 6,402.17. The gains were being
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